Story: Cacophony in San Francisco

San Francisco has long been a magnite for those who consider themselves outside the societal normalcy. The Beats in the 1950s and the Hippies in the 1960s and 70s inspired generations with their attitude of non-conformity and spontaneous creativity. The spirit of these groups is alive and well in present day San Francisco. So called Cacophonists are inspiring and providing entertainment to a whole new generation of city dwellers with subversive ideas and events. To find the "real" San Francisco, and not the one you can buy on a postcard, find out about a cacophony inspired event and join in the fun. I provide for you a brief glimpse at some of the events held annually in and around the Bay Area.

1) Burning Man- For twenty so odd years, we've been burning a wooden effigy of a man in the spirit of creativity, community and free expression. Held for the last decade in the Black Rock Desert of northern Nevada, this week long counter culture event draws tens of thousands of artists, community builders, hedonists, performers, arsonists, musicians, and the occasional grandparent to a desolate dry lake bed 6 hours from San Francisco. 100+ degree heat, dust storms so violent that you need to tie your tent down with rebar, and miles of open desert provide a backdrop to one of the most creative festivals in the world. Beware though, read the "survival guide" thoroughly before venturing out there. http://www.burningman.com

1a) Burning Man also inspires hundreds of events year round across the city some of them official Burning Man events like SF Decompression and Precompression, other serving as fundraisers for collaborative art projects and theme camps. Burning Man hosts an email list that details a lot of these events that I highly recommend for finding out what's going on where. My other favorite place is Scott Beale's Squidlist http://laughingsquid.com/squidlist/events/

2)SantaCon. No longer associated with the Cacophony Society (they like to disassociate themselves from events that get too big or well known. It isn't counter culture anymore if the prevalent culture subsumes it,) thousands of people dressed as Santa Claus (or some Christmas themed relation) partake in a march around San Francisco through tourist attractions, bars, parks, and anywhere else the "red tide" decides to go. Naughty carols are sung, shopping malls invaded, copious amounts of liquor are consumed and a merry time is had by some. You better watch out. http://www.santarchy.com Several other events inspired by SantaCon include the Brides of March where you dress up as a bride held around the Ides of March, Mar 15th, http://www.bridesofmarch.org/Brides/BridesOfMarch.html; The Urban Iditarod, which is a race through city streets using shopping carts filled with beer and teams of human powered sled dogs; and the Zombie crawl with folks covered in fake blood looking for brains and to infect the living.

3)BYOBW- The Annual Bring Your Own Big Wheel Race was started by a local musician, Jon Brumit as he toured the city dump looking for interesting sounds to record. He stumbled upon a child's plastic tricycle and decided to race it down famous Lombard Street (You know the one that's really curvy and featured in The Real World.) 8 years later, this event had grown so large that the neighborhood association threatened lawsuits and the event was forced to move across town to the even crookeder Vermont Street. Thousands of racers and thousands more spectators turn out every Easter Sunday to witness the running of the Big Wheel. http://www.jonbrumit.com/byobw.html

4)St. Stupid's Day Parade. Held on April Fools Day, Bishop Billy of the First Church of the Last Laugh is the Master of Ceremonies for a parade through downtown San Francisco poking fun at the political establishment and anyone who takes themselves too seriously. Chants of "No more chanting," the throwing of pennies into the fountains of business, the tossing of socks and general buffoonery allow the inner clown to cry on the outside.

5)Pillow Fight. Just like it sounds, thousands appear in Justin Herman Plaza to engage in a really big pillow fight. The cloud of down feathers is a sight to behold.

With the advent of the internet, the spirit and ideas of Cacophony have spread beyond San Francisco. Groups like ImprovEverywhere based in New York, and chapters of Cacophony societies in numerous cities globally are creating their own home grown events and gatherings, though San Francisco remains the place it all started. Who know what the next group of counter culture citizens will do next.